Among the Braves
Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy
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Among the Braves
Narrated by:
Jason Vu
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Jason Vu
About this listen
Hong Kong was an experiment in governance. Handed back to China in 1997 after 156 years of British rule, it was meant to be a carve-out between hostile systems: a bridge between communism and capitalism, authoritarianism and liberal democracy. “One country, two systems” kept its media free, its courts independent and its protests boisterous, designed also to convince Taiwan of a peaceful solution to Beijing’s desire for reunification.
Yet this formulation excluded Hong Kong’s own people, their future negotiated by political titans in faraway capitals. In 2019, an ill-conceived law spear-headed by a sycophantic leader pushed millions to take to the streets in one of the most enduring protest movements the world has ever seen. Xi Jinping responded with a draconian national security law that sought not only to end the demonstrations but quash the “problem” of Hong Kongers’ identity and desire for freedom.
Reverend Chu, who believed Hong Kong had to carry the spirit of students at Tiananmen Square, saw his silver-haired comrades who birthed the city’s modern pro-democracy movement handcuffed and taken from their homes. Tommy, an art student radicalized into throwing Molotov cocktails, watched “braves” like him brutalized by police before his own arrest prompted him to flee. Finn epitomized the decentralized nature of the movement and its internet-fueled victories, but online anonymity couldn’t stop his life from unravelling. Gwyneth could predict her eventual fate when she chose to give up her career as a journalist to stand for election as an opposition candidate, and did it anyway.
In Among the Braves, Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin tell the story of Hong Kong’s past, and what the sacrifices of its people mean for global democracy’s shaky foundation.
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Critic reviews
"All of the fault lines shaping our world converged in the inspiring rise and tragic demise of Hong Kong’s protest movement--democracy and authoritarianism, capitalism and technology, nationalism and the individual yearning for liberty and community. In Among the Braves, Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin tell a gripping, propulsive story that puts us inside the harrowing experience of people on the front lines of history, while also showing us the broader context of an increasingly assertive China determined to stamp out dissent. This is the very best kind of journalism--smart, painstaking, empathetic, and beautifully rendered.”—Ben Rhodes, author of After The Fall and The World As It Is
“Seamlessly weaving history with the personal stories of brave Hong Kongers fighting to preserve the spirit of their city, Mahtani and McLaughlin deliver a poignant must-read, as they dissect exactly how democracy and freedom are lost.”—Kim Ghattas, author of Black Wave and The Secretary
“Among the Braves is a piercing revelation….Mahtani and McLaughlin paint a vivid portrait of Hong Kong’s vibrant streets, once pulsating with hope and promise, now shrouded by the shadows of oppression. They bring us into the lives of remarkable individuals, unsung heroes—whose defiance against insurmountable odds transformed them into symbols of resistance and resilience….This is a must-read for anyone who cherishes liberty.”—Maria Ressa, co-founder, Rappler and co-recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
"Mahtani and McLaughlin have written a heartfelt chronicle of Hong Kong’s 2019-2020 democracy movement, centered on the courage, creativity, and sacrifice of its ‘braves’–the movement’s leading foot soldiers. This important book not only bears witness to those who put everything on the line to keep the flame of freedom and justice alive in Hong Kong, but implicitly pays tribute to the millions doing similarly around the world to defend their democratic rights and dignity in the face of autocratic assault. A timely and important read."—Amb. Derek Mitchell, president, National Democratic Institute
"Among the Braves charts the struggles of a younger generation of Hong Kongers in the glare of media spotlights as well as in the trenches of their daily lives. They exhibit both virtues and flaws; they rise and they fall. Continually, though, they walk off the page, grab you by the lapels, and make you look."
—Perry Link, coauthor of I Have No Enemies: The Life and Legacy of Liu Xiaobo
—Perry Link, coauthor of I Have No Enemies: The Life and Legacy of Liu Xiaobo
“[A] powerful and moving debut…. Mahtani and McLaughlin weave an exhilarating narrative, full of fear and hope, frenetic improvisation, and terrifying street violence. The result is a gripping account of one of the great political tragedies of our time.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)
Eye-opening
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